If you include a word like innovating in quotes it typically implies that you're quoting it from the link. It can also signify irony, but in a context like HN where we're discussing a published article, it's often ambiguous.

As for Java, I'd agree that its pace of advance was pretty glacial during the Sun era, but from what I've seen has picked up considerably since the Oracle acquisition and Brian Goetz became architect.

And however bad Java is, it's nothing compared to JavaScript. It takes a decade just to add new a library function, and every new syntax proposal is DOA.